


Five Past Four

by celeste9



Category: Primeval
Genre: Chocolate, Gen, Routine, Tea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-23
Updated: 2014-01-23
Packaged: 2018-01-09 19:15:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1149784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celeste9/pseuds/celeste9
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lester liked his tea every afternoon at five past four, alone, in his office.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Five Past Four

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fififolle](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fififolle/gifts).



> For fififolle's Fandom Stocking. 'Habits and routines' on my Primeval Denial bingo card.

Lester liked his tea every afternoon at five past four, alone, in his office. Everyone was under strict orders not to disturb him unless it was an emergency, and it had better be an emergency Lester deemed was an emergency. He liked his tea with just a splash of milk (the milk absolutely had to be poured in before the tea, of course) and no sugar, and he had a weakness for chocolate digestives.

Bringing Lester his afternoon tea was most certainly not within Jess’ job description. And yet, somehow, she prepared it every day and brought it in for him. He always accepted it with nothing more than a nod and he had never actually thanked her. Jess knew that should make her stop doing it. She didn’t have to, after all, and he never even said thank you! It was appalling, really.

But Jess continued to do it.

Perhaps most surprising of all was the fact that she _liked_ doing it.

Jess was fairly certain there was something wrong with her.

-

One afternoon, as Jess placed Lester’s tea on the desk before him, she hesitated.

Lester eyed her. “Is there something I can do for you, Ms Parker?” he asked, with an air that said how much he wished her answer would be no.

Jess decided that enough was enough. “Bringing you afternoon tea is not what I was hired for. You are aware, aren’t you?”

“I should hope so, considering it was me who hired you.”

“Then, do you think you might stop being so rude and taking it for granted? Would it kill you to say thank you?”

Oh, dear. Jess never could keep her mouth shut.

Still. She stood her ground firmly, as clearly she was in the right.

“It might,” Lester said, sipping his tea and returning his attention to whatever he was doing on his phone. Probably playing Angry Birds.

Jess slunk out, knowing when she was defeated.

-

There was a chocolate bar waiting at her station when Jess arrived at work the next morning. Green & Black’s, the good stuff. She had her suspicions that it was an apology from a certain person, but then again, people often apologised to Jess via chocolate so she couldn’t be certain. Becker said something ridiculous nearly every day so it was quite possible it was from him.

The following morning, there was another chocolate bar, Green & Black’s, a different variety. And the next morning as well. Everyone knew three times made a pattern and a pattern meant a mystery in need of solving.

Jess wasn’t any good at mysteries, actually, so she just went ahead and pulled up the CCTV footage and put it on fast-forward until she spotted Lester coming in to the ARC in the morning. Before going to his office, he made a small detour. It was him leaving the chocolate, after all.

He never said anything. Jess never said thank you.

-

Every morning when she arrived at the ARC, Jess had a chocolate bar waiting for her.

Every afternoon at five past four, Jess brought Lester his tea.

A thing became a routine because it was expected. That didn’t mean it wasn’t enjoyed as well.

_**End** _


End file.
